Nurturing the fine art of
philanthropy
Gary Good hits high notes
Deadwood, S.D. great travel
destination

Lifestyle … Culture … Entertainment

Photo by Jennifer David

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

Where you go, your shows go.

As a Cox customer, you have access to great entertainment no matter where
you are. Your Cox TV service includes TV apps that offer access to
shows and sporting events on up to 90 networks — anywhere, anytime.

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online lifestyle magazines and news-entertainment website. Our online
magazine and website are experiencing a growth rate of 29% in 2015 when
compared to the same time period in 2014. At ion Oklahoma we are sending
out over 300,000 emails monthly with different special edition content to our
ion subscribers.
For example, Eye On The Weekend, Bon Appetit Oklahoma, Eye On The
Movies and In My Space by Peggy Gandy are just a few of the email
campaigns we send to our subscribers on a weekly or monthly frequency.
Are you one of those people who get the majority of news and information
each day over the internet? If so, you will want to visit www.ionok.com. Many
of our ion subscribers download each printed edition and place on the
computer desktop or smartphone for reading anytime 24/7.
In just a short 48 months ion Oklahoma has over 33,311 opt in subscribers
located in 4 counties and 79 different zip codes of central Oklahoma.
Everyday we are receiving many great feature story suggestions, press
releases, and events to place on our website event calendar. We welcome and
encourage your input.
We attribute our initial successes to the quality of editorial content and
photography from our network of professional editors, writers, and
photographers.
We recognize these milestones could not have been reached without you, our
loyal followers and advertising partners. Thank You.
Sincerely,
Don Swift

12 ionOklahoma AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

EXPERIENCE
THE
RENOVATED

MUSEUM
In honor of the 20th Anniversary,
the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum completed
a $10 million renovation that unveils hundreds of artifacts,
35 new interactive stations, and never-before-seen key
pieces of evidence. The newly-enhanced Museum is a
life-changing pilgrimage through loss, resilience, and the
ultimate renewal of a city and its people, following the
April 19, 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
Visit the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum and
experience the journey first-hand.

OklahomaCityNationalMemorial.org

COVER

LIVIA AY
Oklahoma’s singing sensation
BY TIM FARLEY

O

livia Kay took ballet, dance
and gymnastics lessons but got
bored. So, she started singing
and she hasn’t quit.

Kay, a 12-year-old Edmond girl, has put her
youthful mark on the entertainment world the last four
years with powerful renditions of Adele’s “Rolling in
the Deep,” Tina Turner’s arrangement of “Proud
Mary” and her feature appearance on MattyBRaps
video of “True Colors.”
Her YouTube video of “Rolling in the Deep” has
collected more than 1.8 million viewers and the video
with MattyBRaps has more than 37 million views.
She’s also known for heart-stirring performances of the
national anthem at a host of athletic events, including
Oklahoma City Thunder games, Gov. Mary Fallin’s
2015 inauguration.
Kay also has been interviewed by almost every
Oklahoma City media outlet, plus Sports Illustrated,
“The View” host Barbara Walters, NBA.com,
PerezHilton.com and Ellen DeGeneres’ “Good News”
blog.
“It was crazy,” Kay said of her rise to fame. “We
were in LA for an event and we get this call to be on
The View. It all happened in 24 hours. The fact that
we were on one coast and had to fly to the other coast
was crazy. I think they were surprised I could sing like
an adult when I’m the shortest seventh grader I know.”

Although she’s enjoyed a lot of quick success, Kay
said she’s reluctant to accept all of the attention
because she doesn’t want to be considered famous.
“I just want to be a normal kid,” she said during a
recent interview with ionok.com.
The normalcy is facilitated by parents Charlie and
Heather, 18-year-old sister Madison and twin brother
Owen. Life at the Kay house is relatively calm as
Heather decides which events, interviews or shows
her young singing star daughter will attend.

“A lot of it depends on the
calendar, her school and my work.
We listen to what they say and
then we talk about it,” Heather
explained.
Although Olivia is considered a
professional entertainer who is
paid for her performances, she
and her mom are quick to accept
invitations to some charitable
events. One of nonprofit groups
dear to Olivia’s heart is Marley’s
Mission in Pennsylvania. Marley’s
Mission is a nonprofit that
provides equine-based therapy
free of charge to children and
their families who have
experienced trauma. The
nonprofit was established in 2009
after a 5-year-old was attacked in
her home by a stranger. The young
victim had trouble recovering
from the trauma until her parents
kept a promise to buy her a horse,
16 ionOklahoma AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

and that’s how Marley’s Mission
was born.
Olivia and her mother accepted
an invitation to perform at a gala
for Marley’s Mission, a decision
they’ve never regretted. Always
talkative, Olivia immediately
made friends with a young boy
who suffers from autism.
“I talked him into coming to the
gala and then I talked him into
dancing with me,” she said, with a
smile. “If he wouldn’t have come
we wouldn’t have danced. It was
so much fun.”
So what life experiences make
Olivia an extrovert with so much
talent? Even her parents don’t
know.
“I can’t explain it,” Heather
said of Olivia’s success and
singing ability. “She’s always been
that way.”
Vocal lessons have certainly

helped, which is something that still occurs weekly. But
the bundle of energy and the vivacious attitude isn’t
taught. It’s not even learned. She’s simply being Olivia.
Getting started
Olivia’s first public appearance occurred at
Oklahoma City’s Penn Square Mall where she was
trying out to sing the national anthem for the Triple-A
Redhawks baseball team. She was invited to sing the
anthem, a day she’ll never forget.
“I was pretty nervous that first time,” she said.
That first national anthem was sung in 2011, but
since then the stages have become bigger, the lights are
brighter and nerves are no longer an issue. Olivia sang
the anthem at the 2014 Gary Sinise Foundation Benefit
and performed “Rolling in the Deep” during an
appearance on TNT’s “Inside the NBA” with Shaquille
O’Neal. A year later, Olivia sang a five-song set at the
Southern Republican Leadership Conference in
Oklahoma City and belted out another rendition of the
national anthem for the GOP gala.
Perhaps one of her biggest moments came when the
Edmond girl sang the anthem in front of country music

Olivia performs with Kyle Dillingham at the Governor’s Ball.

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 ionOklahoma 17

Above left, Olivia sings the national anthem.
Left, Olivia is One in a Million

superstars Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert during
the 2014 Oklahoma Hall of Fame induction ceremony
where Shelton was honored.
Even today, mom Heather said she’s still surprised
when Olivia is noticed on the street by strangers.
“You’ll hear someone say, ‘heard you on the radio’
and we’ll be in another city where we don’t know
anyone,” she said, with some amazement.
Still, Olivia has big goals and aspirations for
herself.
“I want to perform on a huge stage like Katy Perry
would do. I want all my fans in one area,” she said.
The youngster smiled from ear to ear when told Perry recently
performed at the Super Bowl.
“That’s it,” she said. “That’s what I want to do.
After a moment of reflection, Olivia said one of her top goals
is to “inspire and make people feel good about themselves.”
So far, her plan is working.
For more information about Olivia’s upcoming events or
videos, visit www.facebook.com/OliviaKayMusc or go to Twitter
@OliviaKayMusic. n

18 ionOklahoma AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

COMMUNITY

Making Families
Deaconess Pregnancy and Adoption Services
BY TIM FARLEY

D

eaconess Pregnancy and Adoption Services has
placed 7,000 children with loving families
since the agency started 115 years ago, but
Deirdre McCool believes there’s always more
work to be done.

Dierdrev McCool

“Our goal is to have more waiting families than kids
who need adopted,” said McCool, the agency’s
executive director. “We want to provide an abundance
of hope for everyone involved. We provide adoption as
another alternative to mothers who are going through
an unplanned pregnancy.”
The decisions expectant mothers face can be heartwrenching and difficult to make. In some cases,
women have been sexually assaulted and decided to
carry the baby to full-term while still making adoption
plans. However, the sometimes-painful process can be
eased since the birth mother is allowed to choose
which family will adopt her baby. She’s also given the
opportunity to continue to be a part of the child’s life
with an open adoption.
“She gets to meet the family and many women
choose to have the family with them at the hospital
and then they take the baby home from there,” McCool said. “The
decision to make an adoption plan is the most difficult decision you’ll
ever make, especially in a culture that promotes death.”
Open adoptions became the norm because adults who were once
adopted wanted to know their birth parents and to uncover information
from their past.
“They wanted to understand why they had freckles and red hair or why

20 ion Oklahoma AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

they have a learning disability,” McCool said. “We believe it
helps them develop more holistically.”
The number of fathers who remain part of an adopted
child’s life is low. Figures show less than 10 percent of birth
fathers maintain any connection with the child.
Typically, about 150 women come to the adoption agency
each year with 20 to 25 making official adoption plans. The
agency also certifies 30 to 35 adoptive families in the infant
program, McCool said.
“We help women whether they’re making parenting plans or
adoption plans,” she said. “We equip them to be better
parents.”
Although the agency no longer has a maternity home, it
helps the women with shelter, clothing and food costs during
their pregnancy.
Typically, women who make adoption plans are 25 to 34
years-old. Other than that, the demographics are off the
chart.

“They can be married or single. Race and income doesn’t
matter. There are no perimeters. We’re here for anyone
experiencing an unplanned pregnancy,” McCool said.

Aging Out
While most adoptive families favor infants, other families
choose older children because they fit their current situation.
Generally, Deaconess Pregnancy and Adoption Services handle
between five and 10 adoptions for older children annually.
Many times, the older children have significant trauma
histories, including emotional and behavioral challenges,
McCool said.
“But some families already have other children and want to
make a difference in an older child’s life,” she said.
Unfortunately, 10 to 15 percent of foster children hit legal
age without being adopted, which can lead to future
problems. Within one year, about 50 percent of the females
will become pregnant and 30 percent of all former foster

children will be arrested by the time they reach 21, according
to statistics provided by the Deaconess agency.
In 2014, more than 280 aged-out youth in Oklahoma left
foster care without a family.
More than 500,000 children are in foster care throughout
the country and 20 percent will wait five or more years for a
“forever” family, statistics show.
In Oklahoma, 30 percent of former foster children do not
have a high school diploma with more children added to the
foster care rolls each year. The Department of Human Services
foster care program experienced a 40 percent increase in the
number of children from 2010 to 2014. In 2010, there were
22 ionOklahoma AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

7,970 in DHS custody, and four years later that number had
jumped to 11,573.
“Our mission is to provide families for children,” McCool
said. “But, it’s not as simple as it sounds.”
Families must be thoroughly vetted and home studies are
conducted by DHS workers. Sometimes, that can be a daunting
experience for couples wanting to adopt. Women, in particular,
are dealing with the loss of a dream, which is to give birth.
“Now, they have to prove they can be a good parent,”
McCool said.
As difficult as that process can be, adoption agencies are
thrilled when they can find good homes for children. Even

Much had happened at the Home since Mandy’s baby was born in 1909.
Pictured: Sister Anna Wittman and Mrs, Ida Graham with a host of passengers.

more exciting is when those children – now adults
– stay in touch.
“We helped place a girl 19 years ago and I’ve
been invited to her wedding,” McCool said, with a
smile. “Another young girl we placed later
competed in the Miss America pageant and
adoption became her platform.”
Deaconess also maintains an active search and
reunion department, which brings adult children
in touch with their birth parents. The program
began in 1997 and has facilitated more than 200
reunions.

Holmes Home of Redeeming Love in Guthrie, Oklahoma

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 ionOklahoma 23

Owen, Cooper, Emery and Sadie hold signs of hope to be placed with a family.

“We reunited a 92-year-old birth mom with her 52-year-old
son,” McCool recalled. “She was so excited to meet him.”

Fundraising
Money remains a critical part of the adoption process, so
fundraising is a necessity for Deaconess Pregnancy and
Adoption Services.
The agency’s biggest fundraiser, Angels of Destiny 2015, is
scheduled Aug. 25 at the National Cowboy and Western
24 ionOklahoma AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. The keynote speaker will
be actor Kevin Sorbo who is best known for roles of Hercules in
“Hercules: The Legendary Journeys,” Captain Dylan Hunt in
“Andromeda” and Kull in “Kull the Conqueror.”
For more information about adoption or the fundraiser, visit
www.deaconessadoption.org or call 405-949-4200 or 1-800567-6631. The Oklahoma City-based nonprofit agency is
located at 7101 Northwest Expressway, Suite 325. n

ouisa McCune might still be
the editor in chief of
Oklahoma Today had she
not received a compelling
text message one Sunday afternoon
in 2011 from philanthropist
Christian Keesee.

Louisa McCune at the Central Oklahoma Human Society Banquet.

“He wondered if I might be interested in
the executive director position at the
Kirkpatrick Foundation,” she recalls, smiling
at the memory.
“We spoke that evening, emailed back and
forth the next day and by Tuesday at 11 a.m.,
it was practically a done deal. That Friday,
the foundation’s Board of Trustees approved
my selection and six weeks later, I arrived for
my first day on the job.”
That date, April 21, 2011, is etched in her
memory as a pivotal life moment.
There was personal history in that phone
call, too, McCune said.
“Chris and I had been friends since 1998,
and our grandparents were close friends in
the decades before that. Also, he had invited
me to serve on the board for Oklahoma
Contemporary Arts Center [then called City
Arts Center] in 2009, so our friendship was
growing in a professional context.”
McCune describes Keesee, the only
grandchild of the late Oklahoma City
philanthropists John and Eleanor Kirkpatrick,
as “exceptional and extraordinary.”
“When I first came to the foundation, I
perceived myself as a visionary, not in a smug
way, but I’d always been charged with looking
to the future. Chris outperforms everyone I
know in the category of visionary. If I think in
10- or 20-year increments, he thinks 50 and

Nurturing the Fine Art of Philanthropy
75 years ahead,” she said.
Perhaps Keesee inherited that
penchant for futuristic thinking
from his grandfather, the
Kirkpatrick Foundation founder,
whose foresight in Oklahoma City’s
formative years led to the creation
of numerous assets, including the
Oklahoma City Museum of Art, the
Oklahoma Zoological Society and
the Kirkpatrick Center, now known
as the Oklahoma Science Museum.
John and Eleanor Kirkpatrick
established the foundation in 1955
with an initial contribution of
$10,000.
Early on in her leadership
position, McCune found the
organization’s mission statement—
to support arts, culture, education,
animal well-being, environmental
conservation and historic
preservation, primarily in Central
Oklahoma — to be a guiding
principal. She says that it’s focused
and clear and makes the staff’s work
very straightforward.
“If it’s not in those areas, we don’t
touch it.”
As executive director, McCune
oversees the foundation’s
operations, from grants to the
execution and strategy of its two
major initiatives, Safe & Humane,
which debuted in July 2012, and
ArtDesk, a magazine launched in
October 2013.
Safe & Humane endeavors to
make Oklahoma the safest and most
humane place for animals by the
year 2032. The effort includes a
forthcoming baseline study two

Louisa McCune, center, at 2014 OCU Innocence Project dinner.

years in the works, a regular
convening of leaders via the
Oklahoma Roundtable for Animal
Welfare, the creation of a major
conference, and financially
supporting the work of non-profits
for research, veterinary
advancements, and to end cruelty,
abuse, and animal homelessness.
Safe & Humane also includes the
creation of a state-of-the art animal
hospital at the Oklahoma City Zoo.
“Zoo hospitals do more than treat
individual animals,” Keesee wrote
in the foundation’s 2014 annual
report. “The scientists and doctors
who work there help to ensure that
our grandchildren will see a world
at least as biodiverse as the one we
grew up in, strengthening the
capacity for endangered species to

survive.”
The hospital is named for
Keesee’s mother, the late Joan
Kirkpatrick, who loved and
nurtured animals throughout her
life.
In March, the foundation hosted
the Animal Conference, an
international forum featuring 54
speakers focusing on animal-related
topics from pleasure and desire in
animals to industrial animal
agriculture and water quality. More
than 330 people attended from 16
states, which McCune considered a
big success in advancing the
connection between animal
wellbeing and a community’s
quality of life.
In 2014, the foundation provided
$274,900 to animal wellbeing

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 ionOklahoma 27

fearless spirit to her grandfather,
Bill Rucks, who had traveled
around the world, including trips to
Africa, India, and the Amazon.
“I’d felt that urge to see the world,
knowing my early twenties would be
a particularly good time to be
footloose,” she said.
After returning from Africa in
1993, she worked for an
Architectural Digest photographer
in San Francisco and then returned
to her hometown of Enid to write for
the Enid News & Eagle.
“Writing for a newspaper taught
me discipline and the real art and
science of words on paper,” she
said.
Above, McCune with trustee Mischa Gorkuscha, Christian Keesee.
Regional Emmy Awards with creators of The Dogs of Lexington documentary.

projects in Oklahoma and that
commitment is expected to double.
Also sharing in the foundation’s
well-researched financial grants are
arts and culture, $485,500;
education, $399,865; the
environment, $284,500; and
miscellaneous endeavors,
$201,000.
As McCune, who serves on the
board of directors for Philanthropy
Southwest, considers her role in the
foundation, she said, “As director,
you could say I’m the chief
communicator, facilitator and
networker on behalf of our efforts.
My management style is inclusive. I
make a lot of decisions in the
course of a day. I’m always keeping
the foundation in motion, always
looking ahead.”
There are plenty of times when
decision-making requires
consultation, either with staff,
chairman Keesee or Robert
Clements, president of the
foundation’s board.

“We always arrive at our many
courses of action with consensus,
built on good information,
thoughtful dialogue and a
harmonious outlook,” McCune said.
In many ways, McCune’s versatile
background has prepared her well
for the rigors of her foundation
position. She received her
bachelor’s degree from San
Francisco State University in 1992
and following graduation she
traveled to London and later to West
Africa. She spent eight months
traveling throughout Africa, working
as a radio operator for Evergreen
Helicopters, an American company
that contracts with the World Health
Organization.
“It was certainly my Out of Africa
experience - small airplanes,
photographing herds of elephants
from helicopters, landing alongside
riverbeds for picnics. I was 22 at
the time, and looking back on it, it
does seem rather adventuresome.”
She credits her gregarious,

28 ionOklahoma AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

By May 1995, McCune was in
New York City as a Harper’s
Magazine intern. She worked for
several magazines as a fact checker
and research editor, including
George, founded by John F.
Kennedy Jr., Worth, New York, and
the short-lived American
Benefactor, a magazine about
philanthropy.
During her time in New York, she
was recruited into the candidate
pool for the editor-in-chief position
at Oklahoma Today. After two
interviews with publisher Joan
Henderson (who is now the
publisher of Texas Highways),

McCune with Yo Yo Ma at State Department in April 2015.

McCune was hired. She served as editor-in-chief for
nearly 14 years.
“I grew up personally and professionally at Oklahoma
Today,” she said. “I learned how to be part of a team,
how to lead, how to be an employee, and how to nurture
and sustain the creative process. Perhaps most
important, at Oklahoma Today, I learned how to trust
myself.”
“Magazine editors must be ahead of the curve, always
looking to the future in order to show readers what is au
courant. I still work in publishing with our new
contemporary art magazine, ArtDesk,” she said, noting
it was launched in October 2013 at a Marfa, Texas, arts
weekend. McCune and Keesee, editor and publisher
respectively, see ArtDesk as a significant global
platform to merge regional and international art under
one editorial umbrella.
The magazine is also a support publication for
Oklahoma Contemporary, Marfa Contemporary, and
Green Box Arts Festival in Green Mountain Falls,
Colorado. Currently, it is available at nearly 1,000
newsstands across North America and in 25 foreign
countries.

“Editing a magazine is remarkably similar to
managing a foundation,” she said. “In a magazine, we
have X number of pages to fill. In philanthropy, we
have X number of dollars to allocate. How are we going
to invest those pages or those dollars? It’s all about
making a judgment. In this way, the editorial operations
of a magazine prepared me for a career in
philanthropy.”
For McCune, who juggles her foundation work with
being a mother to three sons, ArtDesk is another key
component, just like Safe & Humane, the Joan
Kirkpatrick Animal Hospital and the Animal
Conference.
“Between the art and animal endeavors and our
wonderful staff, colleagues, and board of trustees - all
of these elements make for an exciting and fulfilling
environment,” she said. “When I arrived at the
Foundation with just my purse, a clean slate, and an
open mind, I quickly discovered that we have highperformance, high-caliber individuals working in a
culture that is predicated on high standards.”
Now, more than four years in, McCune is thoroughly
immersed in the fine art of philanthropy. n
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 ionOklahoma 29

ART

ARTSHOWS

New exhibits feature Native American artists
BY LINDA MILLER

C

ontemporary art pieces by Jeannie
Barbour, Mary Ruth Barnes and Cale
Chadwick, all award-winning Native
American artists, are on exhibit through
Oct. 31 at three separate locations in Oklahoma.

Barbour’s drawings and paintings are featured at the
Chickasaw Visitor Center in Sulphur. Barnes’ photography and
drawings are at the Chickasaw Nation Welcome Center in
Davis, and Chadwick’s drawings and photographs are on

display at Exhibit C in Oklahoma City.
When she was just 4-years-old, Barbour started drawing
and painting, simple acts that ignited an interest and passion
that continues today. She finds inspiration in Southeastern
and tribal history and culture and brings to life images using
colored pencil, oil paint and watercolor.
“As a Chickasaw, themes regarding verbalized tradition
have been of special interest to me, and I try to convey that in
my art with each piece I create,” Barbour said. “I prefer to
illustrate subject matter based on positive experiences and
relationships that reflect Chickasaw traditions.”
Barbour’s awards are many, including an Oklahoma Book
Award for Best Illustrations in 2014, a Moonbeam Children’s
Book Bronze Award in 2013 and Best Illustrator in 2013 by the
Delta Kappa Gamma International Association of Teachers.
Her illustrations also have been published in several books
associated with the Chickasaw Press. Barbour is the creative
director for the Chickasaw Nation Department of
Communications.
Barnes grew up spending time with her grandfather, Henry
McSwain, an original Chickasaw enrollee, who inspired her to
become an artist. She specializes in photography and
paintings using watercolor, pencil and ink sketching and
acrylic.

Left, “Winter Blues on the Arbuckle” by Mary Ruth Barnes.

30 ion Oklahoma AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

as they inspired my grandfather. He taught me the quiet
excitement for life, and I try to express that ‘quiet excitement’
through my paintings.”
Barnes’ accolades include Chickasaw Dynamic Women
forum artists in 2010 and 2015 and Southeastern Art Show
and Market awards from 2009 to 2015. She recently was
featured in The Journal of Chickasaw History and Culture.
Barnes has taught art and photography at the high school
and college level, and is currently teaching drawing and
painting classes at the ARTesian Gallery & Studios in Sulphur
and at the Chickasaw Nation Arts and Humanities in Ada.
Chadwick felt the pull of art at an early age and has
dedicated her career to its many formats. She works for the
Chickasaw Press at the Chickasaw Nation Department of
History and Culture, but in her free time she draws, paints
and photographs. The natural elements found throughout the
original Chickasaw allotment that her family still resides on
plays a role in her artwork.

“Into the Country – Original Chickasaw Allotment” by Cale Chadwick.
“Brother” by Jeannie Barbour.

“While growing up in Tishomingo and playing football for
Murray State College, my grandfather was also a story-teller
and artist; and was inspiration for me and my art. I am
fortunate to be of Chickasaw heritage to continue my
grandfather’s tradition,” Barnes said. “My horses inspire me

“I’m inspired when I’m around fellow artists, and when I’m
in nature; both are great forms of inspiration and motivation,”
Chadwick said. “Mixing medias coupled with my unique style
that leans toward the genre of surrealism makes my art stand
out from the rest.”
Chadwick has received American Advertising Federation’s
Addy Awards in 2006 through 2013, along with Telly Awards in
2008 and 2012 for her work in film and video. n

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 ionOklahoma 31

TRAVEL

Deadw

aims to please

Historic town offers Wild West appeal and more
STORY AND PHOTOS BY LINDA MILLER

D

eadwood touts itself as the town where
the West still lives.

Meander down Main Street and if you can block out the
sounds of modern-day gaming, it’s not too hard to imagine life
in the 1870s when a lawman, scout and famed gunfighter
changed this place for all time.

d

Wild Bill Hickok arrived in Deadwood, Dakota Territory, only a
few weeks before he was shot in the back of the head on
August 2, 1876. The town’s past, present and future seem
forever linked to the man.
That’s part of the appeal of this small, historic town deep in
the Black Hills of South Dakota. It’s rooted in history from early
gold rush days to a wild and promiscuous period (the last
prostitution house closed in 1980) to a booming tourist site
and inspiration for a short-lived HBO series.
In 1964, Deadwood became the first community designated
a National Historic Landmark. That’s a lot of history to explore.
Hickok is buried in Mount Moriah cemetery overlooking the
town. So is Calamity Jane. Each year, thousands of tourists
maneuver the steep drive to see the graves.
It’s just one of many sites to check out. Actor Kevin Costner
so liked the area when he was filming “Dancing with Wolves”
that he now owns the Midnight Star casino, bar and
restaurant. It’s filled with movie memorabilia.
Some 20 other casinos dot the town, many on the threeblock Main Street where visitors will also find Miss Kitty’s
A bronze bust marks Wild Bill Hickok’s grave in Mount Moriah cemetery.

Above, Deadwoodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s historic Bullock Hotel built in 1895 is said to be haunted.
Below, Main Street in Deadwood, S.D. The entire town is a National Historic Landmark.

Mercantile, Black Hills Gold Jewelry by
Coleman, Gunslinger Coffee and
Deadwood Old West Trading Post. As
expected, a Hickok reference or play on
the Old West theme is everywhere.
Old Style Saloon No.10, a bar,
restaurant, museum and selfproclaimed party place, offers daily reenactments of the Hickok shooting. Kids
are booted out at 8:30 p.m., though,
when the saloon becomes adults only.
Across the street is the location of the
original Saloon No. 10 where Hickok was
shot while playing poker. It was the first
and last time he ever sat with his back
to the door. Tragically, the fire of 1879
burned down the building and much of
the town. A bar now operates in that
location, but a huge sign marks its
significance.
Not far up the street another sign,
smaller but still noteworthy, identifies

the spot where Hickok’s killer, Jack McCall, was caught.
While Deadwood always had a steady stream of visitors
during the summer, on Nov. 1, 1989, gambling made this town
a year-round draw. It was only the third city in the country to
legalize gambling. It was a sure bet for years. Today, most
states have casinos, including Oklahoma.
Deadwood sweetens the pot by playing up its beautiful
surroundings, historic architecture, the lure of the Old West
and a yearly calendar filled with car shows, festivals and
outdoor music concerts.
For an at-a-glance history lesson, stop at the visitor’s
center. Despite its notorious reputation, there was more to this
early town than saloons and gunslingers. The townspeople
often attended genteel balls, literary events, performances at
the elegant opera house and theater productions presented by
traveling troupes.
Today, visitors can enjoy town and ghost tours, pan for gold
at Broken Boot Gold Mine, witness (and maybe even
participate) in Main Street shootouts and discover the past at
34 ionOklahoma AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

Adams Museum, Days of ’76 Museum and Historic Adams
House. Wine tasting is offered at the Belle Joli Winery Tasting
Room and for some pampering, check out Akele Spa.
Steakhouses are plentiful. This is the West, after all.
And there’s always the pull of slot machines and blackjack
and poker tables.
Deadwood makes a good base for any visit to the area.
Nearby attractions and easy side trips include Mount
Rushmore, Spearfish Canyon with its spectacular cliffs,
picturesque Black Hills, Lead mining town and Sturgis, known
for its annual motorcycle rally.
Devil’s Tower, featured in the movie “Close Encounters of the
Third Kind, is in northeast Wyoming, just 75 miles from
Deadwood. Wall Drug, a huge maze of departments selling
everything from fine art and cowboy boots to tissue paper and
note pads, is 113 miles away. Badlands National Park is a 30minute drive from the drugstore.
For more information, go to deadwood.com. n

A sign designates where Wild Bill Hickokâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s assassin was captured.

FASHION

EYE OPENERS
Putting stock in vintage eyewear
STORY AND PHOTOS BY LINDA MILLER

J

amie Taylor never expected the purchase
of designer vintage eyewear at a market in
Amsterdam to ignite a business.

eyewear in Europe. For years, he has been buying leftover dead
stock from factories scattered throughout Europe.
Taylor said he has a huge warehouse in the Netherlands, as
well as his own store where Madonna visited recently. She left

She just wanted a pair of great looking eyeglasses,
something to make a statement and express her individual
style. She and her husband bought two pair each, but they
received so many compliments that when they returned to the
Netherlands six months later, they purchased a few more
pairs.
But why keep them for herself? Women in Oklahoma
City would like these, too, she thought. She negotiated
a deal to buy wholesale from the man she learned
has one of the largest collections of vintage

her glasses and took some of his. And, yes, Taylor
asked to buy Madonna’s glasses but they weren’t for
sale. He also supplies vintage eyewear to about 80
stores in Europe, as well as to Taylor’s company, Blinq
Vintage Eyewear.
The businessman also has a link to Oklahoma. His
father, a Cherokee, was from here and his parents
met during the Korean War. His father was stationed
in Holland and stayed there.
With connections made and enough eyeglasses for
a good presentation, Taylor had a show in her
Oklahoma City home and later at the Girlie Show
locally and Palm Springs Modernism Week.
“It was phenomenal,” she said of the California
show. “People in Palm Springs loved it. I’ve been
back again and will go again next year.”
She has since participated at the Los Angeles
Modernism Show, Dwell on Design and the
Manhattan Gentlemen’s Vintage Show.
In Oklahoma City, the glasses are sold at r meyers
in Nichols Hills Plaza. Prices average about $250,
with a range from $185 to $425.
It’s no surprise men and women are excited by the
collection of vintage European eyewear — ovals,
squares, aviators and cat eyes by Pierre Balmain,
Christian Dior, Chopard and plenty of other designers
not as well known here.
Totaling more than 500 pairs, the majority of
Taylor’s ever-growing stash consists of original

eyeglasses and sunglasses from the 1960s and ’70s, along
with a more modern collection inspired by retro designs.
Her inventory changes often, depending on what she buys
and what she sells. She may or may not still have an original
Karl Lagerfeld aviator and a couple of Chanels, but what she
always has is a large selection of designers and original
styles, most with handmade frames and craftsmanship not
found too often these days. Dutch designer Hans Winkel is
well represented in the collection.
As the glasses became more popular and Taylor found not
only inspiration but fun in the designs and details, she
started to wonder exactly how much stock was available. It’s
not like they are still being manufactured.
“So I asked him, ‘How long before you run out?’ ”
“I’ve got enough to supply us for the next 20 years,” he said.
Taylor said she enjoys learning about the history of eyewear
and the designers, though there’s little information on some of
the lesser known Europeans who put their name on the frame.
“Fashion eyewear kind of started in the 1970s,” she said.
“Prior to that eyewear had been manufactured for utilitarian
purposes.”
In the ’70s it became more of a fashion statement. That’s
pretty much what this collection is, she said.
That fashion-making aspect caught her attention from the

beginning. So what were those first two purchases? A 1970s
style by Belgian designer Michel Henau and a 1960s pair with
no designer mark but “the coolest copper brown color,” she
said. n
Above, 1980s-era sunglasses by Indo Barcelona.
Below, a case of sunglasses.

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 ionOklahoma 39

FASHION
WRAPPED UP IN STYLE

What’s in store for fall?
BY LINDA MILLER

New season, new fashion possibilities.
When the weather cools, get ready for rich colors,
interesting details, alluring prints,’70s influences,
updated twists on familiar looks, fresh silhouettes and
feel-good fabrics.
It’s a mixed bag of sorts and that’s what women have
come to enjoy. In other words, lots of choices.
But some trends and themes stand out more than
others.
“One of the big trends that has been coming on and is
going forward is the ’70s,” said Cindi Shelby, owner of r
meyers in Nichols Hills Plaza.
Like many trends that reappear, there’s always a twist
to make it modern, she said. A patchwork suede skirt, for
example, is accented with gold studs to bring the look into
2015.
It’s a similar message from Rita Manzelmann-Browne,
senior buyer for Miss Jackson’s in Tulsa. Bohemian
glamour with influences from the 1960s and ‘70s are at
the fashion front. Think big, bold and vivid florals
associated with that era, along with fringe and ponchos,
she said.

Other trends include longer hemlines, vegan leather and
Ultrasuede. Plaids still play an important role in
contemporary offerings and modern lines take shape with
asymmetrical hemlines, high-low tunics and maxi-length
cardigans, Manzelmann-Browne said.
Grays and optic whites lend an architectural feel as do
oversize sweaters and shift dresses worn with ankle boots,
she said.
And whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ready for gauchos? Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re back. Turtlenecks,
too. Menswear influences continue to be strong with
houndstooth, mini checks and windowpane. Cummerbund
pants are going to be popular for holiday and evening.
Perhaps Hale said it best: Have fun with fall fashion and
know that everything old is new again. n

WILDLIFE ARTISTS SHARE
DIVERSITY OF VIEWPOINTS
BY M. J. VAN DEVENTER
Photographs supplied by the artists and the National Cowboy & Western Heriatge Museum.

W

alter Matia first saw an animal in a painting when
he was a youngster touring the Cleveland Art
Museum. It was a portrait of a dead animal, but
it was still captivating to Matia, who resides in
Dickerson, Maryland.

Walter Matia

As he grew older, he encountered the compelling animal art of Carl Rungius,
an adventurous hunter whose paintings presented wildlife with a
psychological viewpoint in an artistic background. Rungius’ paintings are
revered by artists and Matia believes, “As wildlife artists, we all share in his
lifelong adventure.”
As Matia matured, he earned a professional reputation not only for his
exquisite bird sculptures but for his exceptional research about animals and
their role in art.
His stature as one of the country’s leading wildlife artists made him the
perfect host to lead a discussion on “The Role of Animals in Art” at the 2015
Prix de West art exhibition at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage
Museum.
Sharing the stage with Matia for a spirited discussion were fellow wildlife
artists Greg Beecham, Ralph Oberg and Sandy Scott, all of whom have won
prestigious national awards for their artistic portraits of wildlife in their
habitat.
Each of the artists brought a unique perspective to the discussion, based on
their experiences of painting and sculpting animals ~ often in the wilds of the
American Northwest and numerous foreign countries, especially Africa, Europe
and Asia.
Matia, 62, posed numerous probing questions to the artists.
• Why use animals as a subject for your art?
• What motivates you as a wildlife artist?
• Is the animal more important than the landscape?
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 ionOklahoma 45

The Taker by Sandy Scott

SANDY SCOTT, 72, grew up in Tulsa as a
rancher’s daughter and said sketching
animals was logical for her as a child.
“My material became my muse,” she
said.
Scott began her career as an
animation background artist for movie
studios and then became intrigued with
printmaking. She turned to sculpture in
the 1970s and 1980s.
“Most artists do sculpt what they
know,” she said.
An avid outdoors woman, Scott
maintains homes in Lander, Wyoming
and Lake of the Woods, Ontario, Canada.
She is versatile in her subject matter
and quite adept at sculpting a variety of
wildlife ~ from majestic eagles to
barnyard animals. She is noted for her
prudent observations of wildlife in their
habitat.
“There is a difference between flat
work - paintings - and dimensional art sculpture. There is some logic to how
birds move with such flexibility. It’s
important to know an animal’s skeleton.
It’s a rudiment of sculpture.”
One of her most famous works is a

monumental bronze eagle, which is
tethered at the William Clinton
Presidential Library in Little Rock,
Arkansas and the National Museum of
Wildlife Art in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
GREG BEECHAM, 61, is a classic
example of an artist who followed his
father’s footsteps. Tom Beecham taught
his son to draw and by sixth grade, Greg
could draw photographically, a skill he
says he still uses in his current quest to
pursue wildlife art.
“My father instilled in me a love for
the outdoors and a desire to portray the
wilderness accurately,” Beecham notes.
“Every time I’m in the wilderness, the
animals tell me something new.”
Beecham, who lives in Dubois,
Wyoming, says, “I try to give the critters
a personality. Some are ugly. Yet, there
are some unbelievably handsome grizzly
bears. But none of the creatures will sit
still for you.”
Beecham talked about his study of
paintings by David Leffel and George
Carlson.
“I challenged myself,” he recalls. “It

46 ionOklahoma AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

tis actually Carlson’s sculpture I’ve
learned the most from. In his approach,
he creates a focal point that emanates
from a mass and yet that focal point
remains part of the mass. I am
attempting to discern ways to translate
that idea into painting.”
His paintings do reveal an
understanding of color values, textures,
and edges that are smooth transitions
and the point, counterpoint principle of
art.
“I’m always building toward a unity of
simplicity and painting in my work,” he
said. “I also try to tell an artistic story,
along with the story in the painting. I
find there are lifetimes about art left to
learn.”
RALPH OBERG, 65, was born in Biloxi,
Mississippi, but moved with his family
to Colorado at age four.
“My brother and I had the place all to
ourselves then. We fell in love with the
mountain country, the freedom of the
animals and the wilderness. Animals
were an integral part of that setting.”
Oberg found the mountain wilderness

The North Fork and Big Nasty by Greg Beecham

his spiritual and artistic home early in
life.
“I always knew I would be an artist,”
he said.
After a brief stint at illustration, he
began his career focused on North

American wildlife and birds. He began
painting outside extensively to learn
the color and texture of nature.
“I love the silence and mystery of
wildlife - their hairs, feathers, the
mood of their environment.”
Although Carl Rungius died when
Oberg was only nine, his work became
a major influence on Oberg as he
matured as an artist.
Like Scott, Oberg believes watching
animals move is an important part of
an artist’s observations about wildlife.
Like most artists, photographs taken in
the wild - and slides from an earlier era
- help inform his art.
“I’m not a master of anatomy, but I

know what looks good in a painting,” he
said. “It’s a matter of knowing the
difference between art versus
illustration. Rungius taught us there are
only so many poses in wildlife that are
paintable.”
Oberg’s extensive travels on foot or
horseback in the North American
wilderness provide his primary
inspiration. Recently, Nepal and
Switzerland have inspired his art.
“You learn by seeing many things,
traveling, doing research on site. It’s an
evolutionary process. I let the animals
tell me what to paint,” he admitted. “I
choose to place my animals in carefully
designed, yet natural habitat

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 ionOklahoma 47

Here Comes Trouble by Ralph Oberg

landscapes.”
Matia closed the spirited conversation
twith a reflective comment and two
probing questions.
“We would all like to think we’re doing
something new. Actually, we build on
others experiences,” he said.
Pushing for revealing answers, he
asked this artistic trio, “Do you ever
revisit old ideas,” which he compared to
finding a jewel in previous work, and

“Who pushes you toward new ideas?
Scott responded quickly.
“I spent part of this year in France,
studying the French animaliers in Paris.
I go to the past and I continually revisit
my work. I try not to be influenced by my
fellow artists.”
Like many of the Prix de West artists,
she also was influenced by the late Bob
Kuhn, an artist of international renown
who once told artists to ‘take it all in;
then do something else.’ Scott says, “I
look at the whole saga of western
civilization for inspiration.”
Oberg is inspired to create by the
opportunity to continually do a different
kind of work, which he sees as a story
told with the tools of an artist.
“Sometimes it’s an animal in its own

48 ionOklahoma AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

environment. I like to think he is saying
to the viewer, ‘This is my environment.
This is me. This is where I live. Isn’t it
beautiful?’ ”
Beecham notes, “The animals really
do tell me what to paint. I love the big
awesome landscape. But I like the niche
of painting a harmony and unity of the
animal in his little world. Is it art?
That’s not for me to say.”
For Matia, the real challenge of
wildlife painting or sculpting is couched
in his comment, “We have to be ruthless
editors of what we see in the wild.”
Oberg agrees. “Great artists can paint
or sculpt anything. Our challenge is to
make the ordinary beautiful for the
viewer.” n

MOVIES

of

SUMMER

WOMEN

BY JACOB OLLER

T

he three best films
this summer were all
about the ladies.

Mad Max: Fury Road, Inside Out, and Magic Mike
XXL, the first two certified critical darlings and the third
a divisive test of carnal appreciation, share an important
factor traditionally ignored by Hollywood: they love, love,
love the ladies.
No, they’re not your standard romantic
comedy drivel of unlucky-in-love would-be
brides and hunky, smoldering, and
damaged-but-fixable love interests.
Fury Road is a pounding, fiery hell scream
of Valkyries in a desert escaping from the
apocalyptic terror that has abused them.
Inside Out journeys into a preteen’s
emotions (of whom, three-fifths are voiced by
women) in a loving, nuanced, affecting way.
And Magic Mike, well… You know how
most romantic movies feel sterile? Like the
shredded cowboy abs were just airbrushed
and disinfected before plastically appearing

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 ion Oklahoma 49

tortured, raped, stalked, and eventually killed.
Surprising no one, the films that are thinking beyond
box office dollars are also thinking beyond this
outdated conception of women in film.
I heard a friend of mine say he wouldn’t see Magic
Mike XXL because it would make him feel bad about
his body. That this is his first brush with the bodyimage issues rampant in our culture (especially in
TV/movies – look at all the slobby Kevin James types
of the sitcom world married to their skinny, beautiful
wives) makes it apparent how important and
depressingly novel this summer’s crop of female-centric
films has been.
So take yourself, or that woman in your life, to Magic
Mike. Rent Fury Road. Embrace these films that go
against the grain so that we get more of them. Let your
daughters have a superhero to dress up as for
Halloween in Charlize Theron’s one-armed star in Mad
Max: Fury Road and let your girlfriends have a movie
exploring their fantasies in Magic Mike XXL. Embrace
maturity with your whole family with Inside Out.
Most importantly, show that you like stories being told
from a perspective that isn’t the same one you’ve
heard all your life.

from under a t-shirt like a G.I. Joe
action figure? Magic Mike isn’t afraid
to acknowledge that women have
desires a lot like men have desires.
They can be different, sexual, and
dirty – but most importantly is
that they’re unique.
If anything, Magic Mike sums
up the radical new way this summer’s
hits have approached their female audience: as a
mixed demographic of individuals. For too long, movies
have taken the approach of a movie for action fans, a
movie for comedy fans, a movie for serious drama fans,
and - oh here - a movie for women. Here’s an Eat Pray
Love to tide you over while our sci-fi and action films
have laughably few females. The most female
protagonists in genre filmmaking appear in horror,
where our leads have the exciting opportunity to be
50 ionOklahoma AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

Jacob Oller is an Oklahoma
City-based film critic and blogger
whose work has been published by
multiple journals and news
publications. Read more on his blog
ShouldIWatchReviews.com or follow
him on Twitter @JacobOller n

The Bestselling Book by Kent Frates

Oklahoma’s Most Notorious Cases
Six cases that remain the
talk of the courtroom
Oklahoma has had more than its share of
sensational legal battles with national
ramifications, but for the first time in one
volume, attorney/historian Kent Frates
reveals the facts behind six cases that
helped shape the history of the
state—and the nation.
From bloody murders, to political
scandal, to the horrific act of
domestic terrorism known as
the Oklahoma City Bombing,
OKLAHOMA’S MOST NOTORIOUS CASES
captures the stories, the times, and
the import of these landmark trials.

Read the book that inspired the serial
podcast We Will Always Remember
(RealMysteries.us | weekly Feb. 12 to April 23)
www.

Order now by visiting

OkMostNotoriousCases.com

or calling toll free 877.536.7634

Only

$24
Includes 16 pages
of historic photos!

available at
Full Circle Bookstore, OKC
Best of Books, Edmond
The Bookseller, Ardmore
The Book Place, Broken Arrow
and Barnes & Noble

BOOK BUZZ:

What Lies Beneath
by Lucie Smoker
As the hot, summer sun sends us to shady air-conditioned spaces, we can’t
help but appreciate the dark thrills of eerie stories.

MIDDLE GRADE GHOST STORY

Ghostlight by Oklahoma author, Sonia Gensler
It’s summer at Grandma’s farm and 12-year-old Avery has been
rejected by her older brother, too grown up for the imaginary world
they’d spent years creating. A new kid staying in a nearby cottage,
Julian, announces his plan to make a movie, a ghost story, and he
wants to film at Hilliard House, a looming, empty mansion that
Grandma has absolutely forbidden Avery to enter. As terrified as
Avery is of Grandma’s wrath, the allure of filmmaking is
impossible to resist.
As the kids explore the secrets of the derelict mansion, the “imaginary” dangers in their
movie threaten to become very real.
Sonia Gensler gets tweens and she writes that feeling of being awkward through the adventure.
Highly recommended.
WWII SUPERNATURAL THRILLER

The Einstein Prophecy by Robert Masello
In the midst of World War II as the Americans retake northern
France, art historian Lucas Athan follows a despondent Alsace
mayor deep into an iron mine, passing desperate, skeletal people
hiding from the war. And then:
“Mounted on four sawhorses, as if they were an altar,
squatted the sarcophagus. Lucas didn’t need to get any
closer to know that he had found his quarry— even from this
distance, he recognized the gabled lid and sharpened corners,
the iron chains sealing it shut. But because of a trick of the lights overhead, he found it
hard to see any more detail than that. It was as if the box was bathed in its own
shadow.”
At that moment, a land-mine explodes and the young boy who had followed Lucas, looking for
excitement, for life in his war-torn childhood, is killed, Lucas survives but loses an eye.
52 ionOklahoma AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

As the sarcophagus heads to America on a Red Cross hospital ship, Egyptian archaeologist
Simone Rashid is determined to keep an eye on it. She wonders if they know its secrets. As German
subs attack, she finally finds the crate holding the sarcophagus:
“Simone’s back was pressed between the wall and the heavy crate, which threatened to slip
its moorings and crush her. The wall was cold, but the box, strangely enough, seemed even
colder; she could see her breath fogging the air as it loomed above her, and she could hear
the ominous sound of water— rushing water—entering the boat.”
The ship gets to port, unbelievably, and while we encounter Einstein and Oppenheimer, their
portrayals feel like cutouts. Somehow only Simone and Lucas can ward off the demon forces beneath
the lid of this sarcophagus. Great storyline could have done so much more, but instead The Einstein
Prophecy has all the depth of a blockbuster horror flick. I recommend it only as the
literary equivalent of going to see Abraham Lincoln Vampire Slayer, but not as much
fun.
PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER

Hollow Man by Mark Pryor
An Austin prosecutor and nighttime wannabe musician,
Dominic is also a psychopath. He doesn’t kill people
normally, just wants a normal life—if that’s possible.
Today he learned that his estranged parents died, leaving
him only a guitar. At work, despite winning a big case, he’s
being transferred from the job he loves, to juvie. Pay cut.
The only bright spot in his day is the girl in a green dress.
He spots her outside the courthouse. He meets her at juvie with her
thug brother. And when Dominic shows up to tonight’s free gig only
to find out he’s been cut from the show, he learns she’s as sick as
he is, maybe?
“Sometimes a man in a desert sees an oasis that isn’t
there. Sometimes, it’s there and he’s not sure. But mirage
or reality, the thrill is the same, the hope and relief he feels
are very real. His feet pick up, his spirit soars, and his
focus narrows. He sees a possibility and that’s all he sees,
whether that’s reasonable, real, imaginary, or ridiculous.”
When the girl suggests stealing a van filled with $100,000 from a trailer-park kingpin on rent day,
Dominic might be falling in love—psychopath edition. Mark Pryor takes us deep inside to find not
only what makes these people tick, but how we might resemble them. A suspenseful ride with
devious hijinks. Highly recommended.
Lucie Smoker is a freelance writer, Oklahoma mom and author of suspense novel,
Distortion from Buzz Books USA. More at luciesmoker.wordpress.com.
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 ionOklahoma 53

2015 Oklahoma Sooners Football Schedule

DATE

OPPONENT

LOCATION

Sat., Sept. 5

Akron

Norman

Sat., Sept. 12

Tennessee

Knoxville, Tenn.

Sat., Sept. 19

Tulsa

Norman

Sat., Oct. 3

West Virginia*

Norman

Sat., Oct. 10

Texas*^

Dallas

Sat., Oct. 17

Kansas State*

Manhattan, Kan.

Sat., Oct. 24

Texas Tech*

Norman

Sat., Oct. 31

Kansas*

Lawrence, Kan.

Sat., Nov. 7

Iowa State*

Norman

Sat., Nov. 14

Baylor*

Waco, Texas

Sat., Nov. 21

TCU*

Norman

Sat., Nov. 28

Oklahoma State*

Stillwater, Okla.

* - Big 12 Conference game
^ - AT&T Red River Showdown at
Cotton Bowl

54 ionOklahoma AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

2015 Oklahoma State Cowboys Football Schedule

DATE

OPPONENT

LOCATION

Thu., Sep 03, 7:00 PM

Central Michigan Chippewas

Mount Pleasant, MI

Sat., Sep 12, 6:30 PM

Central Arkansas Bears

Stillwater, OK

Sat., Sep 19

UT San Antonio Roadrunners

Stillwater, OK

Sat., Sep 26

Texas Longhorns

Austin, TX

Sat., Oct 03

Kansas State Wildcats

Stillwater, OK

Sat., Oct 10

West Virginia Mountaineers

Morgantown, WV

Sat., Oct 24

Kansas Jayhawks

Stillwater, OK

Sat., Oct 31

Texas Tech Red Raiders

Lubbock, TX

Sat., Nov 07

TCU Horned Frogs

Stillwater, OK

Sat., Nov 14

Iowa State Cyclones

Ames, IA

Sat., Nov 21

Baylor Bears

Stillwater, OK

Sat., Nov 28

Oklahoma Sooners

Stillwater, OK

Sat., Dec. 5

Open Date

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 ionOklahoma 55

DINING

Sean Cummings pours beer while listening to a guest.

LAND
AND SEA:
a perfect pairing
BY TIM FARLEY

S

ean Cummings is ecstatic that
Land and Sea Restaurant is
still open.

Riding the waves of an unpredictable economy sparked by
plunging oil prices, Cummings knows restaurants stay in
business when people are spending their disposal cash.
“It hasn’t been an enormous gangbuster, but it (business)
has been good,” he said during a recent interview.
Land and Sea, located at 7523 N. May Avenue, seats 40
people in a small, quaint area.
“The norm in larger cities is to have small restaurants and
that’s what we do here,” Cummings said.
The service and friendly atmosphere, which is almost
identical to next-door neighbor Vito’s Ristorante owned by
wife Cathy Cummings, make Land and Sea unique.
“Oklahoma City has treated us very well,” Sean said.
“What we do here is completely different. We have steak and
people order it, but there’s enough of that. We probably sell
80 percent fish.”

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 ionOklahoma 57

Land & Sea focuses on fresh fish, which is flown in twice a week. The menu, driven by
Chef Chris Bickel, has four appetizers, seven entrees and four desserts. The house
specialties include the mouth-watering potato encrusted Chilean Sea Bass and rack of lamb
and the No. 1 appetizer is fresh mussels tossed in garlic-gingered basil coconut sauce.
This reviewer, accompanied by nine members of his family, ordered the sea bass, rack of
lamb, Shepherd’s pie and the chicken breast, which is stuffed with grilled vegetables and
grainy mustard. Every entrée, salad, dessert and libation was well worth it. Everyone left
satisfied and happy with that particular dining experience.
Sean Cummings, a veteran of the restaurant business in Kansas City and Oklahoma City,
said the national and state economy have major impacts on the food industry.
“When the price of oil went from $100 to $45, I thought for the first time in 30 years we’d
fail. There are no guarantees for anybody,” he said. “I’m thrilled we’re open. Everything’s
delicious and I’m happy with where we’re at now.”
The long-term goal for Land and Sea is to continue implementing creative ideas that
build the on the success of the neighborhood gastro pub, which already has earned a
Below, the chef prepares dish.

58 ionOklahoma AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

Above, Sean pours water for guests.

reputation for providing diners with affordable, quality food that allows the restaurant to
sustain itself.
Sean Cummings is a front man in many ways, managing the front end of the restaurant and
being the guy who organizes and opens a new eatery.
“I’m always trying to work myself out of a job, but it hasn’t happened yet,” he said, with a
laugh.
Much like the infamous “Cheers” bar in the iconic television comedy, Land and Sea is a
place where “everybody knows you,” Cummings said. There are five stools at the bar where
moderately-priced wines and beer are served and customers almost seem to know the person
sitting next to them. In most cases, they’re considered regulars who are willing to provide witty
and colorful banter about their host or current issues.
Land and Sea is, without a doubt, a fun, cozy place to dine, drink and make new friends. It’s
definitely a place where, as the song goes, “everybody knows your name.”
For more information about Land and Sea or to make reservations, visit
www.landandseaok.com. The restaurant’s telephone number is 405-755-2622. Land and Sea is
open Tuesday through Saturday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. n

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 ionOklahoma 59

DINING

Vito’s = Italian
by Tim Farley

V

ito’s Ristorante owner Cathy Cummings
is a special woman with a flair for
hospitality, excellent service and great
Italian food.

With those accolades, this review should probably be
over, but there’s a lot more to Cummings and her love affair
with her customers and Oklahoma City.
The facts are she’s been operating Vito’s for a dozen
years, her family hails from Cosenzo, a city in southern
Italy and all of her recipes were provided by her mother,
grandmother and aunts. It comes as no surprise that
family and food play key roles in Cummings’ life. Several
members of her family own Italian restaurants in the
Kansas City area.

Left, Cathy’s family photo. Above, a fish selection from the menu.

60 ion Oklahoma AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

Above, Cathy pours a martini. Right, family pictures fill the walls.

In addition, Vito’s walls are filled with family
photographs, including one with Cummings’ father and
Harry Truman before he was elected president. The
restaurant walls are family history and Cummings isn’t
shy to share some of the stories behind the photographs.
When a customer walks into Vito’s, they’ll quickly see
Uncle Vito, Uncle Tony, Cummings’ parents and
grandparents and Uncle Mike, who was called the
banana king of Kansas City.
Having worked in the restaurant business since she
was 12, Cummings doesn’t mind long hours. In fact,
she enjoys it. She arrives early every morning to
prepare Focaccia bread, which is absolutely delicious
and prepares any customer for the entrees that will
follow.
The house specialties include lasagna, which this
reviewer consumed at a rather quick pace. It was
scrumptious. Other specialties include the chicken
spedini, eggplant parmesan and Ziti con broccoli.
There’s a plethora of great dishes, whether pasta, fish
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 ionOklahoma 61

Cathy chats with guests.

or a good filet. The drinks,
salads and desserts will rock your
world. The menu is relatively small
compared to some restaurants, but
that allows more control and all
entrees are made fresh.
As good as the food is, the service
and hospitality, especially from the
effervescent Cummings, will make a
first-time customer want to return.
The wait staff and Cummings are
more than friendly. They become
friends and it may only take one
visit to Vito’s to believe you’re part
of the family.
“I want people to feel like they’re
coming to my home for dinner. I
want them to have the best meal
they’ve ever had with Dean Martin
and Frank Sinatra playing in the
background. I’m paying tribute to my

family every day I’m here,” she said.
Cummings’ mom and all but one
aunt have passed away, but her 90year-old dad still makes occasional
trips to the restaurant, located at
7521 N. May Avenue.
“Their memory is still alive at
Vito’s,” she said.
Actually, Cummings has a special
place in her heart for a group of
children known as her “garlic
babies.” Learned from her
childhood days in Kansas City,
Cummings began serving pregnant
women who were almost about to
deliver a heavier dose of garlic with
their entrée. Of course, they have to
request it, but it certainly does the
trick.

62 ionOklahoma AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

“So many of them have given
birth in 48 hours of being served
their food with the extra helping
of garlic. I don’t know what it is,
but it’s not scientific. It just
happens,” Cummings said. “It’s not
voodoo, it’s just raw garlic.”
When the babies are born, the
parents often send Cummings
photographs or call her.
“I’ve got pictures of a lot of the
babies,” she said. “They’ll even
come back if they get pregnant
again and ask for the extra garlic.
The ones who haven’t been here
before say they’ve heard about me
around town or their husband heard
some other guy talk about it at the
gym. It’s the weirdest thing in the
world. Word has gotten around that
this works and some of these women
are more than ready to deliver.”
On the night this reviewer was at
Vito’s, a pregnant woman requested
extra raw garlic on her chicken
spedini. It’s unknown if she had her
baby any sooner than expected, but
the effort was made.
For more information about Vito’s,
visit www.vitosokc.com. n

ENTERTAINMENT
OCCC announces artists for 2015-2016
Performing Arts Series
Eclectic mix of performances offers something for all tastes
OKLAHOMA CITY COMMUNITY COLLEGE (OCCC) has set the bar high for
entertainment this year with their 2015-2016 Performing Arts Series lineup.
The series will open with The Texas Tenors Thursday, Oct. 1,
at 7:30 p.m. Frequent performers in Branson, Missouri, The
Texas Tenors will treat the audience to a unique harmony of
country, classical, Broadway and contemporary music along
with their cowboy charm.
Next is jazz legend Doc Severinsen, of “The Tonight Show”
fame, with the Oklahoma City Jazz Orchestra Monday, Oct. 26.
The show will undoubtedly be a crowd favorite full of big band
energy and sound.
The Los Angeles Guitar Quartet will perform Thursday,
Nov. 12. The quartet’s diverse music style will take audience
members around the world in a single concert experience.

Texas Tenors start the season Oct. 1

Audiences will welcome in the holiday season with “A
Melinda Doolittle Christmas” Tuesday, Dec. 8. The “American
Idol” finalist will bring her soulful voice to holiday favorites,
along with originals.
The series will continue Friday, Jan. 22, with the “Queen of
Bluegrass” Rhonda Vincent and The Rage. Vincent’s talent
for the traditional bluegrass sound, along with her stunning
harmonies and bluesy phrasing, will entertain audiences of all
ages.
Los Angeles Guitar Quartet appears Nov. 12

64 ion Oklahoma AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

Melinda Doolittle performs Dec. 8

Fiesta Mexico-Americana, featuring the Grammy
winning group Los Lobos and Ballet Folklorico
Mexicano, will take the stage Tuesday, Feb. 16.
Through a combination of music, song and dance,
these artists will celebrate the many notable
achievements and contributions of MexicanAmericans throughout U.S. history.
Jim Brickman: The Platinum Tour will entertain
audiences Tuesday, March 8. As the most charted
Billboard adult contemporary artist, two-time
Grammy nominee, and the recipient of four gold
albums, Brickman continues to entrance audiences
with his showcase of new music and popular works
from his two-decade tenure as a contemporary pop
artist.

Los Lobostake the stage Tuesday, Feb. 16

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 ionOklahoma 65

The series concludes Friday, April 8, with the highly
anticipated, innovative Kid Koala’s “Nufonia Must Fall”—
a magical theatre experience with live film, puppetry and
music, adapted from Kid Koala’s graphic novel of the same
name. The pairing of a uniquely designed production with a
heartwarming film noir love story will make Kid Koala’s
“Nufonia Must Fall” an unforgettable performance
experience for children and adults alike.
Jim Brickman performs Mar. 8

Rhonda Vincent appears Jan. 22

All performances will be held in the college’s newly
constructed Visual and Performing Arts Center (VPAC)
Theater.
Individual tickets for the Performing Arts Series go on sale
Aug. 1 and start at $17. Subscriptions and packages are
also available, starting at $75. To purchase your individual
or group tickets, please choose from the following options:
• Online at www.occc.edu/tickets
• By calling the Cultural Programs department at (405)
682-7579
• In person at the Cultural Programs Box Office
For more information about cultural events at Oklahoma
City Community College, please visit www.occc.edu/pas or
call (405) 682-7579.
Oklahoma City Community College opened the doors to the
1,049-seat Visual and Performing Arts Center Theater in
early 2014. It features a large atrium with three-story high
windows, state-of-the-art lighting and sound equipment
and will allow the college to host larger Broadway-style
touring productions. The Visual and Performing Arts Center
also houses an art gallery and academic center featuring a
rehearsal room, library, six classrooms, seven studios, seven
labs and faculty offices. n

66 ionOklahoma AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 ionOklahoma 67

ART

Santa Fe Artist Treasures
Oklahoma’s Influence
BY M. J. VAN DEVENTER

O

klahoma City’s Red Earth Festival has a
special place in Raymond Nordwall’s long
list of artistic achievements. After
exhibiting with the Festival for several
years, he was named the festival’s poster artist in
2014, an honor coveted by the annual event’s
participating artists.

Santa Fe artist Raymond Nordwall

68 ionOklahoma AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

Along the way, Nordwall acquired a large coterie of Oklahoma
fans, who now collect his brilliantly colored art to grace the walls of
their homes and their out-of-state vacation residences. A large
group of Stillwater collectors frequently honor him with showings of
his work at art receptions in their homes.
Although Nordwall has called Santa Fe his home for the past 16
years, his heart always will be in his home state of Oklahoma.
Reared in Muskogee, he recalls with fondness the Oklahoma artists
who recognized his budding talent and took the time to nurture his
youthful passion for art.
That passion began with his mother’s love of art.
“She would buy from Oklahoma artists and commission their
work. Now, when I’m painting, I feel very close to her. My Dad was
from the Ojibwe tribe and he took me to powwows, which was my
link to the culture of the powwows I sometimes paint,” he recalled
in an interview in his studio on Santa Fe’s trendy Canyon Road, a
haven for artists.
Nordwall was only 10 when his mother died in a car accident in
1976, but her untimely death did not quell his interest in art.
In the seventh grade, he met Johnny Tiger Jr., then a budding
artist on Oklahoma’s Native American art scene.
“He bought me my first set of watercolor paints,” Nordwall

reminisced. “It was a professional paint set, just like
his. After that, I always tried to use the best paint, even
at a young age.”
That gift from Johnny Tiger was an inspiration that
changed the course of Nordwall’s life.
“I still consider that paint set from Johnny a precious
and inspiring gift,” he said.
With Raymond’s father working away from home in a
government job in the nation’s capitol, Nordwall often
stayed with Johnny Tiger and his family.
“Johnny and I painted together often,” Nordwall
remembers.
Sometimes there were other young artists there
copying the paintings by Jerome Tiger, featured in the
book Peggy Tiger and Molly Babcock wrote about Jerome
after his untimely death in 1967 from an accidental
gunshot wound.
“Sometimes Johnny would touch up our paintings,”
Nordwall confided. “I always drew. I just didn’t know how
to paint. By the time I really started painting, I knew
Jerome’s work so well. Johnny gave me my love for
painting faces. I studied with Johnny through graduation
from Muskogee High School in 1983 and until I left that
fall to attend Oklahoma State University.”

Nordwall also remembers watching Johnny as he often
prepared paintings for shows at Muskogee’s Five
Civilized Tribes Museum, not realizing then he would
someday be preparing his own paintings for prestigious
art shows.
Johnny also gave Raymond a glimpse of the art gallery
scene.
“I was hanging out with Johnny in Tulsa one day and
saw an ad for art galleries in Santa Fe. There were 200
galleries listed and I thought, ‘I bet I could sell to at
least 20 of them.’ I was very naïve about the Santa Fe
art market then.”
Now, Nordwall is frequently asked to share his
experiences and expertise with budding artists and art
students.
His first year of college was disappointing. He
discovered OSU’s more contemporary art focus wasn’t a
good fit for him. He returned to Muskogee to study art
with well-known artist Dick West at Bacone College.
West, whose art career is legendary in Native American
circles, taught Nordwall how to do research so the
elements of his paintings would be authentic.
“I learned about Native American regalia,
accoutrements, how they lived. Mr. West was a great

inspiration to me,” Nordwall said.
After studying with West, Nordwall was accepted on
scholarship to the prestigious Institute of American Indian
Art in Santa Fe. During that time he worked in the gallery
of noted artist Frank Howell.
“He changed my whole approach to painting,” Nordwall
recalled. “He also taught me the business side of art. I
was his gofer. I took his art to galleries to sell and I began
to study more contemporary native painters. I saw who
they were influenced by and I studied their work too.”
Nordwall remembers those days in Santa Fe with
fondness.
“It was an incredibly creative time for me. I surveyed a
range of styles - cubism, impressionism, pop art,
Japanese wood blocks, and plein air painting. Howell
taught me oil painting techniques. He is considered the
premier painter and monotype maker among Indian
artists. His works evoke the spirit of ancestry. I could not
have had a better teacher for the monotypes that have
enhanced my career,” he said.
Following his time with Howell and graduation from the
IAIA, Nordwall traveled in Europe, studying the art of the
master painters. He was enamored with the art of the
French impressionist Claude Monet, who still inspires the

glistening water reflections in many of Nordwall’s
contemporary oil paintings.
That technique is particularly evident in his paintings of
neon bright horses splashing through water and coming
toward the viewer at breakneck speed with spirited energy.
His collectors still love, and buy, the vibrant primary colors
of the horses and shimmering water reflections.
Those paintings brought Nordwall numerous
commissions and awards, including the honor of serving
as the poster artist for the 2000 Santa Fe Indian Market,
one of the largest festivals in the Native American art
world.
As Nordwall approaches his 50th birthday on Sept. 24,
he is reflective and nostalgic about his career.
“I love the life I lead,” he said, mentioning his wife
Gina, housing manager for the Santa Fe Opera, and their
son Miles, 15, who is named for Miles Davis, Nordwall’s
favorite jazz musician.
“I’m so grateful to have grown up in Oklahoma,
especially Muskogee, where I was exposed to so much
Native American art,” he said. “I live in my little world. I’m
blessed. I sell everything I paint. I love the act of creating.
When I’m painting, it’s like a prayer. I feel closest to God
when I’m painting.” n

PEOPLE

VETERANS UPWARD BOUND
BY TIM FARLEY

M

ike Carter spent 13
½ years in the U.S.
military and was
deployed numerous
times to different parts of the
world before deciding what he
wanted out of life.
Carter had worked as an auto
technician at an Ada dealership but the military took him
down different paths. He spent 7 ½ years in the Marines as a
field radio operator and later switched to the Army National
Guard where he served as a Calvary scout and was part of an
infantry unit.
Finally, after his last deployment to the Middle East, Carter
decided it was time to finish his college education, but it
wasn’t going as planned. The amount of paperwork and forms
to fill out coupled with the headaches of getting financial aid
seemed almost insurmountable.
“There were so many hoops to jump through,” he
remembered.
Yet, as luck would have it, he walked into the Veterans
Upward Bound office at East Central University and good
fortune came his way. Within four hours, he was ready to
enroll and start classes the next week.
72 ion Oklahoma AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

“Veterans Upward Bound has, by far, been
the most beneficial program in facilitating my
continuing education,” Carter said. “I was
facing not knowing what to fill out or when to
fill it out. I spent a lot of time trying to figure
out everything myself.”
But when Veterans Upward Bound Director
Mary Meeks and her staff got involved, Carter
experienced smooth sailing.
“They found me an advisor and streamlined everything,” he
said.
Now, Carter is ready to graduate in December with a
business management degree and a plan to open his own
brake-tire-lube shop in rural Asher.
Those types of success stories are normal for Meeks and her
staff, which operates out of Ada and Shawnee. A separate
Veterans Upward Bound program is located on the campus of
Redlands Community College in El Reno.
Program employees help veterans with career options,
college admission, financial aid and an evaluation of their
academic skills.
“We look at what school they’re interested in and what
they’re pursuing and compare the options they have,” said
Meeks, who has overseen the program the last 15 years. “We

help with the admission process, getting
transcripts and we can pay the
admission fee or other fees if necessary.
We also help look at the cost of college
and if they have VA benefits or not.”
In many cases, service members’ VA
benefits have expired so Meeks and her
staff search for other options, including
scholarships and possible funding from
the Department of Vocational
Rehabilitation.
“We also help them brush up on their
academic skills and get them prepared
for the classroom,” Meeks said. “There
is online instruction and one-on-one
tutoring is available. We stay connected
to the veterans who come through here.
We do a lot of advocating on behalf of
the veterans.”

“We have people who have done well
and have everything in place,” Meeks
said. “And then, we have others who are
getting out of the military and need
other training to get employment in the
civilian world.”
In some cases, she said, veterans find
vocational-technical training is a better
fit for them than a college’s academic
setting. In one instance, a veteran who
had worked as a welder could no longer
do that type of work because of the heat.
“He needed an indoor job and he
wanted to be a machinist,” Meeks
recalled. “We looked at another school
and he decided he wanted to be a power
plant technician. The one question we
ask everyone is ‘what do you want to be
doing that you can enjoy that will make
yourself more marketable?’”
Based on current funding levels, the
Veterans Upward Bound program based
at East Central serves 125 vets a year.

Success stories

Mike Carter

In some cases, veterans may need
childcare, housing, transportation or a
job while they’re in school. In each case,
Veterans Upward Bound assists in
delivering those services or guiding the
vets to the right program.

Patrick Hicks and Kim Williams are
two other examples of success for the
Upward Bound program. Hicks suffers
from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
(PTSD) and was incapable of working
through the admission and financial aid
requirements.
Hicks spent 25 years in the military
and now works at East Central
University helping other vets obtain the
proper certification for their VA benefits.
“For me, I couldn’t have gone back to
school without their help,” he said.
“They give you support the whole way.”
Meanwhile, Williams spent 16 years
as a military police officer until she was
medically retired.
“I had no idea what I wanted to do,”
she recalled. “I was 34 and going back

Veterans Upward Bound Director Mary Meeks

to college.”
Thanks in large part to the Veterans
Upward Bound program, Williams
earned her bachelor’s degree in social
work at ECU, and later received a
master’s degree in social work from the
University of Oklahoma. She is now
employed as a social worker at St.
Anthony’s in Shawnee.
“I am very happy where I’m at and so
thankful to Veterans Upward Bound,”
she said. “I might have started back to
school, but probably wouldn’t have
finished without them.”
For more information, visit
www.ecok.edu/trio/vub. The telephone
number for Veterans Upward Bound is
580-559-5541.
This story reprinted with permission
from Shawnee Outlook.

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 ionOklahoma 73

PEOPLE

A GOOD THING
Gary Good hits high note with art, music, events
BY LINDA MILLER

G

Gary with Kenny Loggins.

74 ionOklahoma AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

ary Good grew up surrounded
by music.

“That’s how I came into the world,” he
said.
As the son of Al Good, Oklahoma City’s esteemed
orchestra leader who kept toes taping and couples
swaying for almost 60 years, it’s no surprise his
business ventures would involve music.
A couple of years into college, Good became a
booking agent. His business card simply said Rock
Bands. That was the beginning of what is now Gary
Good Entertainment & Speakers Bureau.
But his interests grew to also include history, art
and events. He found a way to make them all work
harmoniously.
His most recent endeavor is Guthrie Retreat
comprised of three properties that can be used
together or separately. It includes Suite Bettie Jean,
a bed and breakfast; the Magnolia Moon, a
wedding and event venue for everything from

Above, Gary with the Gatlin Brothers; top right, with Paul Williams; and
right with Leona Mitchell.

intimate concerts to golf weekends to girlfriend getaways; and
the adjoining Magnolia Manor for guests.
Good lives and works in Guthrie, a treasure trove of
architecture and history, and a popular site for bed and
breakfast inns and wedding venues.
“I look at all this and sometimes I wonder what I’m doing,”
he said. “When you boil it down, my life has been a mixture of
music, art, events …”
GOOD HAS BEEN BUYING INTO GUTHRIE’S FUTURE for a
decade. In 2005, he purchased an old building and later
opened Gallery Grazioso showcasing fine art, photography and
music. Grazioso is an Italian music term meaning elegance
and grace. Built in 1902, the building housed the Pabst
Milwaukee Brewing Co. Mr. Pabst is said to have had an office
upstairs.
Suite Bettie Jean, the bed and breakfast named after Good’s
mother, a singer and the lead vocalist in her husband’s band,
is upstairs and across the hall in a building built in 1913. The
B&B is decorated with some Good family furniture and
artifacts. Good’s mother died in 1970; his father, 2003.
As he became more enamored with downtown Guthrie, Good
started seeing other possibilities, such as the former
amphitheater that had been transformed into a home in 2001.
It was featured on HGTV.

The amphitheater was built in 1986 and used for a dozen or
so years before concerts and festivals moved to Cottonwood
Flats north of downtown.
In 2010, Good bought the home which sits on an acre of
land. He walked through the property that first time with the
eyes of an event and entertainment person, but he didn’t have
a vision for it. Not immediately.
“I didn’t know to be honest. I just knew the place was
awesome. I knew the place had to be shared, had to be used
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 ionOklahoma 75

and I had to bring the music back,” Good
said.
And that he did. Some 32 “house concerts”
have been featured on what was the stage
and is now the living room/dining room
space. It can seat 60 people so the concerts
are intimate and up close.
“And we really mix it up. Everything I put
there is something I personally approve and
personally know what it is, and I want to
present it.”
Sometimes guests aren’t familiar with the
entertainer but they have faith that it will be
good. Other times the talent is well known.
Leona Mitchell has sold out the venue twice.
Singer Rick Price from Australia, who at one time was known
as the face of MTV, has performed at the Moon more than
anyone. In September, the Mulligan Brothers from Mobile, Ala.,
return with their original music.
Those concerts are called Music at the Moon. It’s casual
76 ionOklahoma AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

Above and right, The Magnolia Moon,
a wedding and event venue for
everything from intimate concerts to
golf weekends to girlfriend getaways.
Left, Good and bride Cristina married
May 30th.

dining and mingling for the first hour, then when the house
lights come down and everyone takes a seat, it becomes
serious. Acoustics are phenomenal, Good said.
Outside concerts sometimes are planned with seating
available for a few hundred guests.

The Moon also has become a popular wedding venue. Good’s
own nuptial exchange a few months ago was wedding number
30 there. He met his wife Cristina at his art gallery during a
Victorian Walk event.
Magnolia Manor, built in 1910 and on the same grounds as
the Moon, was one of the first poured concrete buildings in the
state. It now blends old and new with a décor that’s modern
and bright. Local artwork, original windows and concrete
floors add to the charm and ambience. British rockers
Mumford & Sons reserved the entire retreat for four days when
they performed in Guthrie in 2013.
Magnolia Manor offers three suites, totaling five bedrooms
and about 3,700 square feet.
It could be said Good was born into the music and
entertainment business. His father’s orchestra played on local
radio and television where well-known celebrities often
performed.
As a child he met Roy Rogers, Danny Thomas and Lucille
Ball. How many youngsters can say that?

IT WAS HIS FATHER WHO SUGGESTED he start booking rock
bands in 1970. A year later he joined the folk trio State of
Mind, playing drums and singing. The band went through
various incarnations eventually becoming Gary Good and
Company.
“I was an agent before I was a band leader,” he said.
Good played in the band for almost 15 years while
continuing to build his agency bookings.
“It got to the point I needed to concentrate on one thing,” he
said. “I decided to leave the band. They’re playing now as
Good Company.”
Through his booking company he started to schedule
speakers at local events and expand more into concerts and
corporate shows.
“I’ve basically been all over the country, including Mexico
and Bermuda, doing corporate entertainment shows,” he said.
He has worked with Toby Keith, Sheryl Crow, the Oak Ridge
Boys, Don Henley, K.C. and the Sunshine Band and Herman’s
Hermits, to name a few.
“I’ve been real busy over the years,” he said.

Al Good Orchestra played for the Governor’s Christmas party.

While studying business and music at what is now UCO, Good said he had no clue he would
one day be booking shows all over the country and the world.
Since 1970, Gary Good Entertainment & Speakers Bureau has provided musical entertainers,
actors, celebrity speakers and concerts for private and corporate events. He continues to
manage the Al Good Orchestra, which will play Christmas night in El Reno for the Amity Club
Christmas dance. The orchestra has been playing the dance for some 60 years straight, he said.
He also is involved with the Oklahoma City Arts Commission, various chambers of commerce
and the Al Good Musical Instruments for Kids Fund.
He’s happy with the direction his life has taken and the opportunities he has embraced.
“I enjoy it. I really have a good time,” Good said.
“I watched my father and he had to be on the stage. When you saw my dad in front of his
orchestra, he was in his element. You could tell that was what he had to do. His deal was
performing, and although I enjoyed performing, my forte is taking care of the other aspects and
working in the backgrounds, working with clients, working with bands.”
Good’s plan is to keep doing what he’s doing. He just secured two bookings for Price, the
Australian performer, in Jakarta, Indonesia. That’s his first booking in Asia.
“I really appreciate the idea that if you’re moving forward, things happen as they’re supposed
to. I just keep walking forward and taking action. Things present themselves. That’s what
happened with this place. I was not looking for Magnolia Moon when I happened on it. I was just
there and paid attention. I’ll continue with bookings, traveling and doing certain shows. A
combination of events, music and art.” n

78 ionOklahoma AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

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